REPOR*! 


Lincoln    Highway   Commissio' 


TO 


Governor   Samuel    M.   Ralston 


DECEMBER  15,  1916 


REPORT  OF 


Lincoln  Highway  Commission 


TO 


.«nX  7  19^7 

(ycTVERNOR  Samuel  M.  Ralston 
December  15,  1916 


Commission  Appointed  to  Determine  the  Route    Traveled 
Through  Indiana  by  Abraham  Lincoln  and  his 
Father's  Family  when  they  Removed 
TO  Illinois  in  1830 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  COMMISSION 

Joseph  M.  Cravens,  Chairman,  Madison 
Jesse  W.  Weik,  Secretary,  Greencastle 


o 


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Indianapolis,  Ind.,  Dec.  15,  1916. 
Hon.  Samuel  M.  Ralston, 
Governor  of  Indiana. 

SIR: 

The  undersigned  having  been  directed  by  you  to  ''determine 
the  route  through  Indiana  traveled  by  Abraham  Lincoln  and 
his  father's  family  when  they  emigrated  to  Illinois  in  1830," 
beg  leave  to  submit  herewith  the  following  report : 

The  first  definite  step  in  the  movement  to  trace  the  proposed 
route  between  Mr.  Lincoln's  birth  place  in  KentucW  and  his 
home  in  Illinois  was  the  following  resolution  adopted  by  the  legis- 
lature of  Kentucky  in  the  year  1910: 

"The  name  of  the  public  road  leading  from  Louisville> 
Kentucky,  to  Elizabethtown,  Kentucky,  known  as  the 
Louisville  and  Nashville  pike,  and  from  Elizabethtown, 
Kentucky,  through  Hodgenville,  Kentucky,  to  the  Lincoln 
Farm  in  Larue  County,  Kentucky,  shall  be  changed  to  the 
Lincoln  Way,  and  said  road  from  Louisville  to  the  Lincoln 
Farm  shall  hereafter  be  designated  and  known  as  the 
'Lincoln  Way.'  " 

Within  a  year  the  legislature  of  Illinois  adopted  the  following 
resolution: 

"WHEREAS,  the  people  of  the  state  of  Illinois  ever 
mindful  of  their  deep  and  lasting  obligation  to  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  with  abiding  love  and  reverence  do  strive 
continually  to  honor  his  name  and  memory;  dnd 

WHEREAS,  it  is  the  sense  of  the  people  of  Illinois 
that  a  fitting  and  permanent  memorial  to  the  memor}^ 
of  the  great  Emancipator  would  be  the  consecration  and 
dedication  of  the  road  that  he  traveled  from  the  place 
of  his  birth  in  Kentucky  through  Indiana  and  thence  to 
his  tomb  at  Springfield  to  be  known  forever  as  the  Lincoln 
Way;  and 

AVHEREAS,  at  its  last  session  the  legislature  of 
Kentucky  enacted  a  law  naming  the  route  over  which 
Abraham  Lincoln  traveled  from  his  home  at  Hodgenville 
to  Indiana  the  'Lincoln  Way'  and  in  the  hope  that  the 
state  of  Indiana  will  join  the  states  of  Kentucky  and  Illinois 
in  establishing  and  completing  this  fitting  memorial, 
therefore  be  it 


4 

RESOLVED:  By  the  House  of  Representatives,  the 
Senate  concurring  therein,  that  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  Ilhnois  State  Historical  Library  be  and  they  are  hereby 
requested  to  make  the  necessary  investigations  to  de- 
termine the  exact  route  traveled  by  Abraham  Lincoln  in 
his  removal  from  Kentucky  to  Illinois,  and  to  report  to  the 
General  Assembly  at  as  early  a  date  as  possible,  and  make 
such  recommendations  as  they  deem  advisable  to  carry 
out  the  purpose  of  this  resolution." 

In  due  course  of  time  the  legislature  of  Indiana,  alive  to  public 
interest  and  mindful  of  its  duty  in  the  matter,  enacted  the  follow- 
ing law,  which  became  effective  February  15,  1915: 

"WHEREAS,  the  state  of  Illinois  has  been  endeavoring 
through  a  commission  authorized  by  its  legislature  to 
determine  and  mark  the  route  from  the  Wabash  river 
westward  through  Illinois  traveled  by  Abraham  Lincoln 
and  his  father's  family  when  they  emigrated  from  Indiana 
in  1830,  therefore, 

BE  IT  ENACTED;  By  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
State  of  Indiana:  that  the  Governor  shall  within  30  days 
after  this  act  takes  effect  appoint  a  commission  consisting 
of  two  persons,  who  shall  serve  without  compensation, 
but  shall  be  allowed  traveling,  hotel,  and  other  necessary 
expenses  in  connection  with  their  investigation,  which  sums 
are  to  be  paid  on  warrants  approved  by  both  members 
of  the  commission. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  commission  to  make  a  careful 
inquiry,  with  a  view  to  determining  the  route  through  Indiana 
traveled  by  Abraham  Lincoln  and  his  father's  family  when  they 
removed  from  their  home  near  the  town  of  Gentryville,  in  Spencer 
County,  Indiana,  to  Macori  County,  Illinois,  in  1830.  The 
commission  shall  have  power  to  administer  oaths  and  compel 
the  attendance  of  witnesses  and  the  production  of  books  and  news- 
papers necessary  to  its  investigation.  After  the  conclusion  of  its 
inquiry  it  shall  report  the  results  of  its  labors  to  the  Governor 
before  the  next  regular  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly. 

The  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  is  hereby  appropriated  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  this  act." 

In  compliance  with  the  foregoing  law  the  Governor  appointed 
Joseph  M.  Cravens,  of  Madison,  and  Jesse  W.  Weik,  of  Green- 


castle,  members  of  the  commission.  On  April  21,  1915,  the 
commission  met  in  Indianapolis  and  organized  by  electing  Mr. 
Cravens  as  president  and  Mr.  Weik  as  secretary. 

Before  entering  upon  the  details  of  our  investigation,  it  will 
not  be  inappropriate  if  we  preface  the  same  with  a  brief  sketch 
of  the  Lincoln  family,  and  a  recital  of  the  causes  that  led  to  their 
several  migrations. 

A  century  ago  Thomas  Lincoln,  a  native  of  Virginia,  was  living 
in  Hardin  County,  Kentucky.  By  trade  a  carpenter,  he  was 
nevertheless  struggling  to  make  a  living  by  farming.  The  country 
about  him  was  more  or  less  barren,  the  timber  small  and  of  little 
value,  and  the  soil  so  thin  and  poor  he  found  it  a  never  ending 
task  to  make  both  ends  meet.  The  returns  were  meagre  and  the 
prospect  anything  but  encouraging.  Meanwhile,  stories  of  great 
stretches  of  rich  and  unoccupied  lands  began  to  reach  his  ears, 
and  finally  despairing  of  any  betterment  in  his  condition  so  long 
as  he  remained  in  Kentucky,  he  resolved  to  leave  the  State  and 
seek  a  more  inviting  home  beyond  the  Ohio. 

In  the  fall  of  1816,  therefore,  he  began  preparations  for  his 
removal.  Building  a  flat-boat  he  loaded  onto  it  his  tools  and 
personal  effects,  including  in  the  invoice  "four  hundred  gallons 
of  whisky."  He  launched  his  craft  on  a  tributary  of  Salt  River 
known  as  the  Rolling  Fork,  and  slowly  floated  with  the  current 
till  he  reached  the  Ohio.  At  some  point  on  the  journey,  which 
has  thus  far  never  been  definitely  fixed,  his  boat  careened  or  cap- 
sized and  his  cargo  slid  into  the  water.  By  dint  of  great  patience 
and  labor,  however,  he  succeeded  in  righting  the  vessel  and 
recovering  his  tools  and  the  greater  part  of  the  whiskey.  Re- 
suming his  journey  he  drifted  down  the  Ohio  as  far  as  the  mouth 
of  Anderson's  Creek,  on  the  Indiana  side,  near  the  present  town 
of  Tro}^,  where  he  tied  up  and  went  ashore. 

Here  he  disposed  of  his  boat  and  placing  his  goods  in  the  care 
of  a  settler  named  Francis  Posey  he  struck  out  for  the  interior  in 
quest  of  a  suitable  location  for  his  new  home.  About  sixteen 
miles  northwest  he  found  a  tract  of  land  that  suited  his  fancy 
which  he  promptly  marked  out  for  himself.  Then  he  made  his 
way  to  Vincennes,  where  the  United  States  Land  Office  was 
located,  to  make  the  required  entry,  and  on  his  return  to  the  land 
identified  it  by  blazing  the  trees  and  piling  up  brush  at  the  corners 
to  establish  the  proper  boundary  lines. 

These  preliminaries  disposed  of  he  returned  to  Kentucky  for 
his  family,  making  the  journey  on  foot.     The  family  was  small, 


6 

consisting  of  his  wife,  Nancy  Hanks,  a  daughter,  Sarah,  and  a 
son,  Abraham.  They  were  so  poor  that  the  backs  of  two  horses 
were  amply  sufficient  to  transport  themselves  and  their  meagre 
array  of  worldly  goods  over  the  Kentuckj^  hills  to  Indiana.  In 
due  time  they  reached  and  crossed  the  Ohio  at  the  same  point, 
opposite  the  mouth  of  Anderson  Creek,  where  the  head  of  the 
family  had  landed  in  the  preceding  fall.  Here  they  lingered  with 
Posey,  who  loaned  them  a  wagon,  into  which  they  packed  their 
belongings,  including  the  whiskey,  w^hich,  presumably,  had  lain 
undisturbed  in  the  latter's  cellar.  Then  slowly  picking  and  blazing 
their  way  through  the  dense  forest  they  at  last  reached  their 
destination,  a  wooded  rise  near  one  of  the  upper  reaches  of  Little 
Pidgeon  Creek,  known  as  the  Buckhorn  Ranch,  and  distant  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  what  was  later  to  be  known  as  the  village 
of  Gentryville.  The  question  of  location  having  thus  been  dis- 
posed of,  Thomas  Lincoln  set  resolutely  to  work  to  provide  a  shelter 
for  his  little  family. 

Passing  over  the  intervening  period  during  which  the  wife 
and  mother,  Nancy  Hanks,  had  died  of  that  much  dreaded  malady, 
milk-sickness,  the  daughter  Sarah,  wedded  to  Aaron  Grigsby, 
had  passed  away  in  the  throes  of  childbirth,  and  Thomas  Lincoln 
had  married  a  second  wife  in  the  person  of  Sarah  Bush  Johnston, 
we  come  now  to  the  winter  of  1829.  Another  epidemic  of  the 
"milk-sickness"  had  visited  the  Gentryville  neighborhood.  Not 
only  the  people  but  cattle  and  sheep  in  great  numbers  were  being 
carried  away  by  it.  A  veritable,  stampede  followed.  No  one 
appreciated  what  inroads  it  could  make  in  a  communitj'  better 
than  Thomas  Lincoln,  whose  wife  and  two  of  her  kindred,  ten 
years  before,  had  perished  of  the  disease  within  one  week.  Again 
was  he  grieved  and  discouraged;  again  he  listened  to  the  rosy 
stories  told  by  passing  travelers  of  a  new  country  full  of  wonderful 
attractions  and  great  possibilities.  It  was  the  state  of  Illinois. 
Vast  stretches  of  rich  and  fertile  lands  there  were  to  be  had  on  the 
easiest  of  terms.  In  fact,  it  was  a  veritable  paradise  for  the  poor 
man.     Why  not  go  there  and  start  anew? 

"The  proposition,"  says  one  of  ]\Ir.  Lincoln's  biographers, 
"met  with  the  general  consent  of  the  Lincoln  contingent,  and 
especiallj^  suited  the  roving  and  migratory  spirit  of  Thomas 
Lincoln.  He  had  been  induced  by  the  same  rosy  and  alluring 
reports  to  leave  Kentucky  for  Indiana.  Four  times  had  he  moved 
since  his  first  marriage,  and  in  point  of  worldly  goods  he  was  no 
better  off  than  when  he  first  started  in  life.     His  land  groaned 


under  the  weight  of  a  long  neglected  incumbrance,  and  like  many 
of  his  neighbors  he  was  ready  for  another  change." 

Having  disposed  of  his  eighty  acres  of  land  to  Charles  Grigsby 
for  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  and  his  corn  and  hogs  to 
his  friend  David  Turnham  (the  corn  "bringing  ten  cents  a  bushel" 
and  the  hogs  being  "lumped")  he  loaded  his  household  goods 
into  a  wagon  drawn  by  two  yoke  of  oxen,  and  with  his  family 
set  out  early  in  March,  1830,  for  the  prairies  of  central  Illinois. 
The  emigrant  party  comprised  thirteen  persons,  and  included 
Thomas  and  Sarah  Bush  Lincoln,  their  two  sons,  Abraham  Lincoln 
and  John  D.  Johnston,  Squire  Hall,  his  wife,  Matilda  Johnston, 
and  son  John;  Dennis  Hanks,  his  wife  Elizabeth  Johnston,  and 
four  children,  Sarah  J.,  Nancy  M.,  Harriet  A.  and  John  Talbott. 
Hall  and  Hanks  had  married  the  two  daughters  of  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

"The  journey  was  long  and  tedious"  narrates  one  of  Lincoln's 
biographers,  "the  streams  swollen  and  the  roads  muddy  almost 
to  the  point  of  impassibility.  The  rude,  heavy  wagon  with  its 
primitive  wooden  wheels  creaked  and  groaned  as  it  crawled  through 
the  woods  and  now  and  then  stalled  in  the  mud.  Many  were 
the  delays,  but  none  ever  disturbed  the  equanimity  of  its  pas- 
sengers. They  were  cheerful  in  the  face  of  adversity,  hopeful 
and  determined;  but  none  of  them  more  so  than  the  tall,  ungainly 
youth  in  buck-skin  breeches  and  coon-skin  cap  who  wielded  the 
gad  and  urged  his  patient  oxen  forward.  As  they  entered  the 
new  State  little  did  the  curious  people  in  the  various  towns  through 
which  they  passed  dream  that  the  obscure  and  penniless  driver 
who  yelled  his  commands  to  the  oxen  would  yet  become  the 
Chief  Magistrate  of  the  greatest  nation  of  modern  times." 

So  much  for  history.  And  now  let  us  tell  the  story  of  our 
investigation  and  recount  the  reasons  that  have  led  us  to  determine 
what  particular  route  these  obscure  and  forlorn  emigrants  must 
have  followed  when  they  made  their  way  in  March,  1830,,  through 
our  State  from  the  Ohio  to  the  Wabash;  more  specifically  that  part 
of  the  journey  which  stretches  between  the  Linclon  Farm  near 
Gentryville,  In  Spencer  County,  and  the  city  of  Vincennes,  where 
they  crossed  the  Wabash  into  Illinois. 

One  of  the  most  significant  and  convincing  items  in  the  array 
of  facts  we  have  succeeded  in  gathering  comes  from  Abraham 
Lincoln  himself.  It  appears  that  one  morningearl}^  in  February,  1861, 
a  few  days  before  his  departure  for  Washington  to  begin  the  duties 
of  the  great  office  to  which  he  had  been  elected,  he  left  his  home 
in  Springfield  to  pay  a  farewell  visit  to  his  aged  step-mother,  who 


8 

was  then  living  in  Coles  County,  Illinois.  He  reached  the  town 
of  Charleston  in  the  evening.  The  next  morning  he  started  in  a 
buggy  for  Farmington,  a  village  about  eight  miles  southwest, 
where  the  old  lady  was  then  living  with  a  daughter.  His  only 
companion  was  Augustus  H.  Chapman,  whose  wife  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Dennis  Hanks,  and  therefore  the  grand-daughter  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  step-mother.  Mr.  Chapman,  who  died  recently,  lived 
for  many  years  in  Charleston,  a  trustworthy,  intelligent  and 
truthful  man — in  fact,  no  one  stood  higher  in  the  esteem  and  good 
will  of  his  fellow  citizens.  He  had  been  an  officer  in  the  Union 
Army,  having  served  throughout  the  Civil  War  as  Lieutenant 
Colonel  of  the  54th  Illinois  Inf.  Vols,  and  left  a  military  record 
alike  praiseworthy  and  brilliant.  Several  years  ago  he  furnished 
to  an  interviewer  the  following  account  of  what  took  place  and 
what  was  said  by  Mr.  Lincoln  when  they  rode  together  in  the 
buggy  to  Farmington:  "I  married  the  daughter  of  Dennis  Hanks, 
and  the  latter  has  been  living  with  us  for  many  years,  have  often 
talked  to  him  about  the  removal  from  Indiana  to  Illinois  in  1830 
also  with  Sarah  Bush  Lincoln,  his  mother-in-law,  who  also  lived 
in  my  family  for  some  time  prior  to  her  death  in  1869.  One 
evening  in  February,  1861,  Mr.  Lincoln  arrived  in  Charleston  to 
visit  his  father's  grave  and  also  his  step-mother,  who  happened  to 
be  at  the  home  of  a  daughter  near  the  village  of  Farmington  in 
the  country.  He  spent  the  night  at  the  residence  of  Thomas  A. 
Marshall,  who  was  a  State  Senator  residing  in  Charleston.  The 
next  morning  early  he  walked  over  to  the  home  of  his  cousin  Den- 
nis Hanks,  after  which  he  and  I  got  into  a  buggy  and  started  to 
drive  to  Farmington.  Our  conversation  during  the  ride  was 
devoted  largely  to  family  history.  Among  other  things  we  got 
to  talking  about  the  journey  from  Indiana:  he  agreed  substan- 
tially with  Dennis  Hanks  as  to  the  route  they  took;  said  they  went 
from  Gentryville  to  Jasper,  thence  to  Washington  and  on  to  Vin- 
cennes,  where  they  crossed  the  Wabash;  thence  to  Lawrenceville, 
Illinois,  where  they  turned  north  and  pushed  on  to  Palestine,  in 
Crawford  county.  At  Palestine  they  found  a  great  many  people 
drawn  there  by  the  land  office.  They  kept  on  paralleling  the 
river  to  Darwin,  where  they  left  the  Wabash  behind  them. 

At  this  point  they  set  off  in  a  northwesterly  direction,  passing 
through  Richwoods  in  Clark  County;  thence  to  a  point  about 
six  miles  west  of  Charleston  called  Dead  Man's  Grove;  thence 
north  through  Nelsonville,  Moultrie  County,  to  Decatur,  where 
they  stopped." 


9 

The  facts  thus  naiiutcd  by  Col.  Chapman  were  communicated 
b}'  him  to  the  secretary  of  this  commission  Jan.  3,  1896,  and  the 
above  version  of  the  interview  is  copied  from  the  original  notes 
made  at  the  time.  Included  with  the  latter  MS.  is  the  following 
memorandum  of  a  statement  by  Harriet  A.  Hanks,  the  wife  of 
Col.  Chapman,  who  was  one  of  the  emigrants  from  Indiana  in 
1830: 

Name,  Harriet  Chapman,  daughter  of  Dennis  Hanks  and 
grand-daughter  of  Sarah  Bush  Lincoln;  says  she  was  born  in 
Indiana  and  when  about  four  years  old  accompanied  her  parents 
and  the  Lincolns  when  they  removed  to  Illinois  about  1830; 
her  grandmother  told  her  the  first  printing  press  and  the  first 
Indians  she  ever  saw  were  at  Vincennes;  that  on  the  way  she  (the 
grandmother)  and  her  daughters  rode  horseback  part  of  the  way, 
the  children  being  in  the  wagon;  that  the  saddles  on  which  they 
rode  were  bought  with  money  that  was  due  the  old  lady  from  her 
first  husband's  estate,  and  which  she  rode  to  Kentucky  to  collect. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  summer  of  1865,  Mr.  W.  H. 
Herndon,  who  had  been  Mr.  Lincoln's  law  partner  in  Springfield, 
visited  southeastern  Illinois,  southern  Indiana,  and  central 
Kentucky  in  quest  of  material  for  a  life  of  Lincoln  which  he 
expected  to  write,  but  which  was  not  published  till  the  spring 
of  1889.  When  in  Charleston,  Illinois,  he  interviewed  the  Chap- 
mans,  Dennis  Hanks,  Sarah  Bush  Lincoln  and  others,  accumulat- 
ing a  rich  store  of  material  all  of  which  has*  been  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  commission.  This  data  which  was  collected  over 
half  a  century  ago  when  the  facts  were  fresh  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  communicated  them  is  of  the  greatest  historic  value.  But 
strange  to  relate  although  Mr.  Herndon's  researches  were  pro- 
found and  exhaustive  he  seems  not  to  have  learned  or,  at  least, 
put  on  record  the  particular  route  chosen  by  the  Lincoln's  when 
they  emigrated  from  Indiana.  Col.  Chapman's  contribution  to 
Mr.  Herndon's  undertaking  was  very  voluminous  and  of  great 
weight,  owing  to  his  intimate  relations  with  Dennis  Hanks,  Sarah 
Bush  Lincoln,  and  even  Abraham  Lincoln  himself.  With  a  few 
trifling  exceptions  his  testimony  is  almost  entirely  in  his  own  hand- 
writing. Here  is  a  brief  extract  from  an  account  by  him  of  the 
journey  to  Illinois  copied  from  the  original  MS.  and  written  in 
September,  1865: 

"Thomas  Lincoln  moved  from  Indiana  to  Macon  County, 
Illinois,  in  March,  1830,  in  a  large  four-horse  wagon  drawn  by 
two  yoke  of  oxen,  the  only  wagon  he  ever  owned.     He  brought 


10 

with  him  some  stock  cattle,  a  horse  or  two,  three  beds  and  bed- 
ding, one  bureau,  one  table,  one  clothes  chest,  one  set  of  chairs, 
cooking  utensils,  etc.,  three  families  came  together,  Lincoln's, 
Hall's  and  Hanks'.  Squire  Hall  and  Dennis  Hanks  had  married 
sisters,  the  two  step-daughters  of  Thomas  Lincoln.  Abe  Lincoln 
drove  his  father's  ox  team.  The  waters  were  very  high  at  the 
time  and  they  came  near  losing  their  team,  wagon,  and  contents 
in  crossing  the  Okaw  or  Kaskaskia  River." 

A  word  here  as  to  Dennis  Hanks.  He  was  born  in  1799 
and  died  in  October,  1892,  and  with  the  exception  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  probably  the  only  member  of  that  band  of  hardy 
pioneers  who  migrated  to  Illinois  in  1830  who  could  write;  at  least 
who  could  put  on  paper  anything  in  the  nature  of  a  connected 
statement  of  facts.  He  is  the  best  and  in  fact  the  only  authority 
we  have  for  our  limited  knowledge  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  early  days. 
Mr.  Herndon  realizing  the  value  as  well  as  the  importance  of 
Hanks's  testimony  examined  him  with  the  skill  and  precision  of 
a  lawyer,  the  result  being  a  contribution  to  the  story  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  life  without  an  equal  in  point  of  accuracy  and  historic 
interest. 

Twenty  years  after  Mr.  Herndon  had  cross  examined  Hanks 
the  latter  came  under  the  observation  of  Mr.  Weik,  the  secretary 
of  the  commission,  to  whom  Mr.  Herndon  had  turned  over  his 
entire  collection  of  letters  and  papers,  including  everything  written 
by  Hanks.  Mr.  Weik  held  frequent  interviews  with  Hanks  in 
Charleston  and  Paris,  Illinois,  in  which  places  he  alternately  made 
his  home  with  relatives.  Following  is  a  copy  of  an  entry  written 
by  Mr.  Weik  in  his  dairy  Thursday,  October  28,  1886,  in  which 
Hanks  refers  to  the  migration  of  the  Lincolns  from  Indiana  in 
1830: 

"At  noon  reached  Paris,  where  I  met  Mrs.  Chapman  and  her 
father  Dennis  Hanks;  latter  told  about  life  of  Lincoln  in  Indiana 
and  Illinois;  said  he  came  to  Ind.  from  Ky,  in  year  after  Lincoln's 
arrival  but  accompanied  them  from  Ind.  to  Ills;  they  went  from 
Gentryville  to  Jasper,  thence  to  Petersburg  and  Vincennes  where 
crossed  the  Wabash.  Hanks  showed  watch  given  him  by  Lincoln 
when  he  visited  Washington  during  war;  was  of  silver  and  had 
inscription  from  Lincoln  as  Prest.  etc." 

In  addition  to  what  has  been  detailed  above  the  commission 
has  been  furnished  the  testimony  of  another  witness,  one  to  whom 


11 

Mr.  Hanks  also  communicated  his  recollection  of  the  route  through 
Indiana.  This  gentleman  is  Mr.  James  H.  McCall,  a  resident 
of  Winterhaven,  Florida,  who  writes  as  follows: 

"Winterhaven,  Fla.,  Dec.  30,  1914. 
Mr.  Jesse  W.  Weik, 

Greencastle,  Ind. 
Dear  Sir: 

During  the  80's  I  was  engaged  in  traveling  through  southern 
Indiana  and  Illinois  and  frequently  visited  the  burial  place  of 
Nancy  Hanks  and  other  early  pioneers  of  that  locality.  Sub- 
sequently, I  think  in  1886,  I  became  acquainted  with  Dennis 
Hanks  at  Charleston,  Ills,  who  gave  me  a  description  of  their 
trip  from  Gentryville  to  Vincennes.  I  can  only  recall  portions 
of  the  details  but  I  do  remember  that  he  said  they  crossed  White 
River  at  what  is  now  Petersburg.  Some  of  the  party  were  on 
horseback  and  carried  fodder  for  their  animals  bound  on  behind. 
Mr.  Hanks  became  very  much  interested  when  I  told  him  I  had 
visited  the  grave  of  his  sister (?).  You  will  probably  recall  that 
through  the  generosity  of  a  few  Indiana  citizens,  admirers  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  an  iron  fence  was  erected.  The  old  gentleman  seem- 
ed very  solicitous  to  know  for  sure  that  'that  stun'  was  placed 
at  the  right  grave,  and  believed  he  could  tell  if  he  could  go  there. 
He  showed  me  his  watch  presented  to  him  by  Pres.  Lincoln  of 
which  he  seemed  very  proud. 

Thinking  these  few  incidents  may  be  of  interest  to  you  I  take 
great  pleasure  in  sending  them. 

Very  respectfully, 

JAMES  H.  McCALL." 

Later,  in  compliance  with  a  suggestion  to  that  effect  Mr. 
McCall  put  his  story  into  the  form  of  sworn  testimony  as  follows: 

"TO  ALL   WHOM   IT   MAY   CONCERN. 

Be  it  known  that  during  the  summer  of  1886  or  1887  accord- 
ing to  the  best  recollection  of  the  undersigned  I,  James  H.  McCall, 
met  in  the  city  of  Charleston,  Ills.  Mr.  Dennis  Hanks,  and  there 
held  a  conversation  with  him  regarding  the  early  life  of  the 
Lincoln  family,  their  residence  in  southern  Indiana  and  removal 
to  Illinois,  in  what  year  he  did  not  say  or  if  be  did  I  have  for- 
gotten it. 


12 

During  our  conversation  he  said  they  traveled  north  from 
Gentry ville,  Ind.,  to  Petersburg,  where  they  crossed  the  White 
River,  thence  to  Vincennes,  where  they  crossed  the  Wabash. 
Owing  to  the  lapse  of  time  many  incidents  related  by  Hanks  are 
lost  to  my  memory,  but  I  am  certain  that  no  reference  was  made 
to  any  other  route  or  crossing  of  rivers  than  those  stated. 

(Signed)  JAMES  H.  McCALL. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  a  notary  Public  this  the  15th 
day  of  May,  1915. 

J.  WALKER  POPE, 
(SEAL)  Notary  Public. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Col.  Chapman  in  his  testimony  inti- 
mates that  Mr.  Lincoln's  recollection  of  the  route  of  travel  from 
Indiana  to  Illinois  is  in  "substantial  accord"  with  that  of  Dennis 
Hanks,  but  a  comparison  of  the  statements  of  the  two  shows  that 
if  Chapman's  recollection  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  account,  that  the  route 
led  from  Jasper  through  Washington  is  correct  then  there  is  a 
variance,  for  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  two  witnesses, 
Weik  and  McCall,  Dennis  Hanks  declared  the  route  led  from 
Jasper  northwest  through  Ireland  and  Otwell  to  Petersburg. 

Thus  far  it  will  be  observed  that  we  have  confined  ourselves 
to  testimony  emanating  from  those  who  were  membees  of  the 
emigrant  party.  There  are  however  other  sources  of  information. 
For  instance  there  are  good  and  cogent  reasons  in  support  of  the 
contention  that  when  the  emigrants  set  out  from  their  farm  near 
Gentryville  they  went  north  through  Dale  and  thence  in  the 
same  general  direction  to  Jasper,  or  what  was  then  known  as 
Enlows  Mill  on  the  Patoka  River.  An  examination  of  the  country 
made  by  the  commission  in  October,  1915,  between  the  Lincoln 
Farm  and  the  town  of  Dale  shows  that  within  the  exception  of 
a  tributary  of  Little  Pigeon,  which  at  best  is  an  insignificant 
branch  across  the  roadway,  there  are  no  streams  of  any  conse- 
quence between  the  points  named.  The  case  would  have  been 
different  had  the  Lincolns  turned  northwestward  and  endeavored 
to  make  Petersburg  by  way  of  Selvin.  In  that  event  it  would 
have  been  necessary  to  cross  the  north  fork  of  Little  Pigeon  and 
also  Pokeberry  Creek,  both  of  which  including  their  approaches 
through  the  bottopis,  were  streams  of  no  inconsiderable  size  for 
an  ox  team  and  a  heavily  loaded  wagon  to  cross  in  the  month  of 
March,  especially  before  the  days  of  graded  roads.     In  addition 


13 

we  know  that  the  Lincohis  were  in  the  habit  of  passing  to  and 
fro  between  their  home  and  Dale,  or  Ehzabeth  as  it  was 
formerly  known.  Mr.  Herndon  demonstrated  that  fact  when  he 
visited  the  Lincoln  home  and  the  Gentryville  neighborhood  in 
1865.  At  that  time  David  Turnham,  to  whom  the  Lincoln's 
sold  their  corn  and  hogs  when  they  left  for  Illinois,  was  living 
but  a  short  distance  from  Dale,  and  likewise  William  Woods  and 
his  daughter  Elizabeth,  at  whose  house  the  junior  Lincoln  was  a 
frequent  visitor.  From  Dale  northward  past  Huntingburg  the 
commission  found  high  ground  and  no  large  streams  save  Patoka 
River,  which  stretches  across  the  country,  from  a  point  as  far  east 
as  Paoli  and  as  far  west  as  the  Wabash,  and  which  would  have 
had  to  be  crossed  somewhere  by  the  traveler  if  he  expected  to 
reach  Vincennes. 

In  1865  David  Turnham  told  Mr.  Herndon  that  a  road  from 
Rockport  to  Bloomington  passed  through  Gentryville  in  1823, 
but  the  records  of  the  State  indicate  an  earlier  existence  than  that. 
December  31st,  1821,  the  General  Assembly  enacted  a  law,  one 
of  whose  sections  reads  as  follows: 

"Sec.  7.  That  the  road  from  Rockport  to  Portersville,  thence 
to  Hindostan,  thence  to  Bloomington  be  and  the  same  is  established 
in  length  eighty  miles;  that  the  sum  of  five  thousand  four  hundred 
and  seventeen  dollars  be  appropriated  and  that  Joseph  D.  Clem- 
ents of  Martin  County,  Michael  Buskirk  of  Monroe  and  Sam 
Snyder  of  Spencer  be  appointed  commissioners,  etc." 

That  the  road  from  Rockport  through  Gentryville  and  Jasper 
was  an  early  and  generally  used  thorofare  is  also  attested  by  the 
routes  over  which  the  mails  were  carried  during  that  period. 
The  following  from  the  records  of  the  Post  Office  Department 
at  Washington  is  not  without  significance: 

"June  30,  1825,  Mail  Route  167 
From  Rockport  by  Porterville  to  Washington. 
Once  in  two  weeks,  55  miles.     Leave  Rock- 
port every  other  Wednesday,  1  P.  M.,  and 
Washington  Thurs.  6  P.  M." 

"Oct.  10,  1827,  Mail  Route  486 
From  Rockport  by  Gentry's  Store  and 
Portersville  to  Washington  once  a  week.  ' 
Leave  Rockport  every  Sat.  6  A.  M. ;  leave 
Wash,  every  Thurs.  6.  A.  M. 


14 

"July  25,  1829,  Mail  Route  18 
From  Rockport  by  Gentry's  Store  and 
Portersville  to  Washington  once  a  week. 
Leaves  Rockport  every  Tuesday  noon; 
leave  Washington  Thurs.  6  A.  M, 

In  1834  a  mail  from  Petersburg  once  a  week  went 
eastward  to  Jasper  and  Paoli,  length  of  route  54  miles, 
carrier  Ezra  Chapman, 

In  1834  another  mail  once  a  week  left  Rockport 
passing  by  Gentry's  Store,  Jasper  and 
Petersburg;  length  of  route  64-^  miles, 
carrier  Ezra  Chapman. 

Having  reached  and  crossed  the  Patoka  at  or  near  the  ford 
at  Enlow's  Mill — now  Jasper — to  which  point  that  river  had  been 
declared  navigable  by  the  legislature  of  Indiana  in  1829,  the  Lin- 
coln emigrants  were  now  in  that  section  of  the  country  traversed 
by  the  widely  known  Buffalo  Trace.  This  road  or  trace  which 
followed  the  path  made  by  the  myriads  of  buffalo,  who  for  ages, 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  had  made  their  way  from  the 
prairies  of  the  northwest  to  the  salt  licks  of  Kentucky,  became, 
in  time,  the  main  line  of  travel  between  the  two  United  States 
Land  Offices,  in  Indiana,  Jeffersonville  and  Vincennes.  Over 
it  passed  the  thousands  of  pioneers  who  settled  in  and  developed 
the  southern  half  of  the  Hoosier  State.  It  led  from  Louisville 
to  Vincennes,  was  surveyed  for  a  pike  in  1834  and  $654,411  spent 
on  it.  From  Paoli  westward  to  Vincennes  there  were  two  trails, 
one  via  Washington  and  the  other  by  way  of  Portersville,  Otwell 
and  Petersburg.  After  1820  both  were  used  as  stage  lines. 
From  Jasper  a  road  ran  northwest  intercepting  the  Buffalo  Trace 
at  or  near  Otwell,  from  which  point  the  former  led  to  Petersburg 
and  thence  to  Vincennes.  This  was  the  route  over  which  the  mail 
was  carried  from  Vincennes  to  Paoh  in  1834  as  indicated  by  the 
records  of  the  Post  Office  Department  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

After  leaving  the  Patoka  behind  them  the  question  naturally 
arises  whether  the  Lincolns  continued  north  to  Portersville,  crossed 
the  East  Fork  of  White  River  and  made  their  way  thence  to  Wash- 
ington, where  it  was  necessary  to  cross  White  River  again  in  order 
to  reach  Vincennes.  While  apparently  in  accord  with  Col. 
Chapman's  account  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  recollection  of  the  events 


15 

of  1830  might  the  latter  nut  have  used  the  word  Petersburg  and 
Chapman  afterwards  erroneously  recorded  it  as  Washington, 
and  might  not  the  President-elect  have  said  Washington  when  he 
really  meant  Petersburg.  The  commission  drove  over  the  routes 
between  Jasper  and  Washington  and  between  Jasper  and  Paters- 
biirg,  and  if  topography  alone  be  the  consideration  we  cannot  re- 
frain from  believing  that  the  average  traveler  as  between  the 
two  would  have  chosen  the  Petersburg  route.  We  are  therefore 
of  the  opinion  that  after  reaching  the  north  bank  of  the  Patoka  the 
emigrants  set  out  in  a  northwestwardly  direction  passing  through 
or  near  Ireland,  Otwell  (where  their  road  joined  the  Buffalo  Trace), 
Algiers  and  Petersburg.  Here,  or  near  here,  they  crossed  White 
River  and  made  their  way  to  Vincennes. 

After  leaving  Jasper  several  other  routes  existed  over  which 
they  might  have  reached  their  destination.  They  could  have 
continued  their  way  northward  to  Portersville  and  then  turned 
west  following  the  Buffalo  Trace,  keeping  on  the  south  side  of 
White  River  to  Petersburg;  or  they  might  have  stopped  on  this 
latter  road  at  a  point  a  few  miles  east  of  Petersburg  called  High 
Banks  and  crossed  the  East  Fork  of  AVhite  River  where  it  is  ford- 
able  at  times;  or  they  might  have  turned  to  the  right  at  Peters- 
burg and  followed  the  road  which  lead  northward  to  Washing- 
ton. In  all  but  one  of  these  cases,  however,  it  would  have  been 
necessary  to  cross  White  River  twice. 

The  great  and  convincing  argument  in  support  of  the  Peters- 
burg route  is  that  it  necessitated  crossing  White  River  but  once. 
This  fact  was  undoubtedly  known  to  Thomas  Lincoln  because  he 
had  already  made  one  round  trip  between  Gentryville  and  Vin- 
cennes and  possibly  another.  Ferrying  the  rivers  in  those  days 
involved  more  or  less  expense,  so  that  people  as  poor  as  the 
Lincolns  would  naturally  be  inclined  to  avoid  the  outlay  when- 
ever possible. 

Another  reason  why  the  Lincolns  chose  the  Jasper — Peters- 
burg route  is  because  the  land  is  high — in  fact,  a  long  ridge,  a 
veritable  water-shed  stretches  between  the  points  named.  Notice 
any  good  map  of  the  State  and  you  will  find  that  there  is  no  stream 
worthy  of  representation  on  a  map  to  cross.  White  River  on 
the  north  side  of  the  ridge  flows  west;  Flat  Creek  on  the  south 
side  east,  thus  indicating  a  perfect  water-shed.  According  to 
State  Geologist  Cox  the  plateau  west  of  Ireland  in  Dubois  County 
is  120  feet  above  White  River  and,  according  to  maps  of  surveys 
made  l)y  Charles  D.  Walcott,  director  of  the  United  States  Geolog- 


16 

ical  Survey,  the  ground  from  Jasper  to  Petersburg  gradually 
rises.  Ireland  is  479  feet  above  sea  level,  Otwell  496;  a  short 
distance  away  where  the  Buffalo  Trace  intercepts  it  is  502,  and  at 
Algiers  it  is  527. 

We  have  given  much  time  and  study  to  such  maps  of  Indiana 
published  about  the  period  of  the  Lincoln  migration  as  we  have 
been  able  to  obtain.  They  were  made  mainly  in  the  eastern  states 
and  for  the  use  of  travelers  to  the  west.  In  some  cases  they  are 
slightly  inaccurate,  but  taken  as  a  whole  they  are  reasonably 
correct  and  faithful  to  the  facts.  At  all  events  they  are  the  onh^ 
record  evidence  we  have  of  the  roads  and  streams  of  that  period. 
The  records  of  the  commissioners  courts  in  Spencer  and  Dubois 
Counties — from  which  source  it  would  have  been  possible  to 
obtain  evidence  of  the  existence  and  direction  of  the  public  roads — 
have  been  destroyed  by  fire,  so  that  in  the  absence  of  competent 
parole  testimony  we  must  fall  back  on  the  maps. 

The  earliest  published  map  of  Indiana  we  have  been  able  to 
secure  is  one  by  Anthony  Finley  made  in  1820.  It  shows  a  road 
following  the  Ohio  River  from  the  mouth  of  Big  Pigeon  past 
Rockport  and  Troy  to  Fredonia  and  Cory  don.  Another  road  is 
the  Buffalo  Trace  leading  from  Vincennes  through  Washington 
to  Paoli  and  from  Vincennes  through  Petersburg  and  Porters- 
ville  to  Paoli,  and  still  another  is  a  road  from  New  Harmony 
through  Princeton,  Petersburg,  and  Washington  to  Bloomfield. 

A  map  published  by  S.  Augustus  Mitchell  in  1831  shows  that 
a  road  beginning  at  Rockport  extended  northward  passing  through 
Jasper,  Portersville  and  thence  to  Mt.  Pleasant,  a  town  near  the 
east  line  of  Daviess  County.  At  Jasper  this  road  was  intersected 
by  three  other  roads,  one  from  Petersburg  to  Paoli,  another  from 
Fredonia  and  another  from  Boonville. 

Another  map  by  Mitchell  in  1834  shows  a  road  from  Rockport 
through  Jasper  and  Portersville  to  Mt.  Pleasant,  a  road  from 
Boonville  to  Jasper,  joining  the  Rockport  road  at  a  point  south 
of  Jasper  and  not  far  from  Huntington  and  another  road  from 
Princeton  ending  at  Jasper. 

A  map  by  S.  Morrison  published  in  Cincinnati  and  certified 
by  the  Surveyor  General  of  the  United  States  M.  T.  Williams, 
March  3,  1835,  shows  a  road  from  Rockport  to  Jasper.  It  does 
not  touch  Portersville  but  goes  beyond  Jasper  on  the  south  and 
east  sides  of  the  East  Fork  of  White  River  to  a  place  in  Martin 
County  called  the  Rapids,  where  it  intersects  the  upper  branch  of 
the  Vincennes  and  New  Albany  turnpike. 


17 

A  map  by  J.  H.  Colton,  1836,  shows  the  road  from  Rockport 
by  waj^  of  Gentryville  and  Dale  to  Jasper.  Here  it  divides,  one 
fork  going  to  Washington  by  way  of  Portersville,  the  other  north- 
west by  way  of  a  place  named  Delectable  (now  Algiers)  to  Peters- 
burg. At  the  latter  place  it  is  crossed  by  a  road  from  Princeton 
to  Washington. 

Another  map  by  Mitchell  issued  in  1837  shows  the  road  from 
Rockport  to  Jasper,  Portersville  and  Mt.  Pleasant.  Another  road 
starting  at  Jasper  joins  the  Vincennes  and  New  Albany  road  at 
Paoli.  The  road  from  Petersburg  reaches  Jasper  by  way  of 
Portersville. 

A  map  issued  by  Colton  in  1838  indicates  three  roads  from  the 
Ohio,  one  starting  at  Troy,  another  at  Rockport  and  still  another 
at  Newburgh.  They  join  at  a  point  in  Dubois  County,  near  the 
present  town  of  Huntingburg,  from  which  place  one  road  goes 
north  to  Jasper,  thence  to  Portersville  and  Mt.  Pleasant,  and 
another  to  Washington.  At  Jasper  a  road  which  starts  at  Cory- 
don  passes  through  the  villages  of  Ireland  and  Otwell,  crosses 
the  White  River  at  or  near  Petersburg  and  goes  thence  north- 
west to  Vincennes. 

Although  the  maps  do  not  so  indicate,  the  records  of  the  land 
department  in  the  office  of  the  Auditor  of  State  show  that  license 
for  what  was  probably  the  first  ferry  on  White  River  was  issued 
to  Nathan  Harlan  in  1805,  thus  tending  to  prove  that  travel  to 
Vincennes  by  way  of  Petersburg  must  have  began  at  a  very  early 
date. 

In  view,  therefore,  of  the  facts  set  forth  in  the  foregoing  sum- 
mary of  our  investigations  and  after  a  careful  inspection  of  the 
country  lying  between  Troy  on  the  Ohio,  where  the  Lincolns 
first  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  Indiana,  and  Vincennes  on  the  Wabash, 
where  they  emerged  from  the  State,  we  are  of  the  opinion  that 
after  these  hard}^  and  venturesome  emigrants  bade  farewell  to 
their  cabin  home  near  Gentryville  in  March,  1830,  they  moved 
northward  through  Dale  to  Jasper,  thence  northwestwardly  through 
the  villages  of  Ireland,  Otwell,  and  Algiers  to  Petersburg,  at  or  near 
which  place  they  crossed  White  River  and  then  pushed  on  to  Vin- 
cennes, by  the  most  dii'ect  route. 

Without  dwelling  unduly  on  the  delicacy  and  magnitude  of 
our  task,  we  take  this  means  of  expressing  our  thanks  to  those  who 
have  so  handsomely  and  magnanimously  aided  us  in  our  under- 
taking. We  are  especially  grateful  to  Judge  R.  E.  Roberts  and 
the  officials  of  Spencer  County;  to  Messrs.  Williams  and  Barker 


18 

of  Warrick  County;  to  Messrs.  A.  L.  Gray,  George  R.  Wilson  and 
Judge  J.  L.  Bretz  of  Dubois  County;  to  Messrs.  J.  W.  Wilson, 
R.  M.  Gray  and  John  C.  Chaille  of  Pike  County;  to  Messrs. 
Chas.  Siefert  and  Mayor  McCartney  of  Washington,  Daviess 
County;  to  the  Hon.  James  Wade  Emison,  the  Hon.  James  M. 
House,  and  the  County  Officers  of  Knox  County:  to  Capt.  J.  W. 
Wartman  of  Evansville;  to  the  officers  of  the  State  of  Indiana  at 
Indianapolis  including,  especially.  His  Excellency  the  Governor, 
the  Auditor  and  the  Librarian,  Prof.  Brown,  and  in  a  word  to  the 
seemingly  endless  number  of  kind  friends  everywhere.  The  list 
is  too  long  for  insertion  here.  Assisted  and  sustained  by  their 
generous  and  unstinted  co-operation  we  have  been  able  to  reach 
a  truthful,  just  and  we  trust  satisfactory  conclusion — without  it 
we  could  not  hope  for  success. 

Very  respectfully, 

JOSEPH  M.  CRAVENS,  Chairman. 

JESSE  W.  WEIK,  Secretary. 


^..i. 


